Hundreds of Christians gathered at St Joseph Catholic Church in Detroit over the weekend to protest the unveiling of a nine-foot statue of Satan.
The goat-headed Baphomet monument was presented by the Satanic Temple, an organisation “dedicated to Satanic practice and the promotion of Satanic rights”, has been held at an undisclosed location after threats to blow up the monument.
According to Christian Today, Bishop Corletta Vaughn of the Holy Ghost Cathedral in Detroit, an evangelical church, said: “This unveiling will not happen in the City of Detroit on my watch. I’m here to stand against this being in the City of Detroit. We will not turn over our city to Satanists. It’s a violent spirit that’s moving to the city and infiltrating that place. We will drive them out of Dodge.”
Rev Dave Bullock, a pastor at Greater St Matthew Baptist Church in Highland Park, Michigan, added: “The last thing we need in Detroit is having a welcome home party for evil.”
Jex Blackmore, who organised the unveiling of the Satan statue, told TIME magazine: “Baphomet contains binary elements symbolising a reconciliation of opposites, emblematic of the willingness to embrace, and even celebrate differences.”
According to its website, The Satanic Temple “holds to the basic premise that undue suffering is bad, and that which reduces suffering is good. We do not believe in symbolic ‘evil’.”
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